The People in Our Neighborhood

July 14, 2013

Amos 7:7-17; Psalm 82; Colossians 1:1-14, Luke 10:25-37

Today we have the story of Amos, who delivers a very unpopular prophecy, but says, “hey, it’s not like I’m getting paid to say this; I know what I’m saying is unpopular, but God compels me to say this.”  We have Paul encouraging a congregation who is working to grow both spiritually and in numbers and asks for them to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will and be Spiritually fruitful while patient, giving joyfully, and be made strong.  Then we have the famous Gospel passage that starts off like a lawyer joke, and asking the crucial question, “And who is my neighbor?”

Friends, the topic of today’s message is outreach.  I might argue that every sermon I’ve preached since my arrival has been about outreach, but I guarantee you that every sermon I preach in the remainder of my time here is going to be about outreach.  The reason for this is not because I woke up one day and thought it would be a good idea, but because when you called me to come here, you asked me to support this congregation in living out its commitment to outreach.

And yet, "outreach" seems to be such a scary idea, perhaps because we are mainline Protestants (aka, the Frozen Chosen), perhaps because we have images in our head of ringing doorbells and awkward opening lines, or whatever.  And then this past Tuesday was a sort of turning point, where I was at coffee with a group of pastors, and nearly everyone was lamenting how to get their congregations excited about outreach.

Outreach doesn’t have to be scary.  After all, it’s grounded in love, as Jesus lays out in the greatest commandment:  Just love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Do this and you will live.

Along comes a lawyer, and he perhaps also is anxious about outreach and asks, who is my neighbor?  Who, indeed--because that question is everything.

Last week we talked a little about Jews and Samaritans, how there was tension and suspicion between these two groups.  To understand today’s Gospel, you need to know that a priest and a Levite (or member of the Jewish priestly clan, maybe like a pastor’s kid today) are both expected to do the right thing because of who they are.  But they both fail, because they keep to themselves on the other side of the road. Finally, the Samaritan, despised by Jewish people of the time, is moved with compassion and crosses the road, does everything he can to help, then enlists help from others to carry on the work.  In doing so, he demonstrates both love of God, and love of neighbor.

++

I’d like to share a few stories about our neighborhood right here around the church, and then I’d like to share with you who I think today’s Good Samaritans might be  

First, if I haven’t already, let me tell you about our interview weekend with the PNC [pastor nominating committee].  Things had been going okay, but the point at which we thought we’d blown the interview was when we turned our old, dented van onto Bergamont Boulevard.  You see, we’d seen pictures of the old church.  It’s an old building, small, and there’s an approachability to it.  Since there’s not a parking lot, who knows or cares what kind of car you drive?  But at the far end of a street of expensive homes, our first thought was, “if they even give us the job, I think we’ll have to go out and get a nicer car.”

However, what kept us going down the road despite our concerns, was that we’d already met the people inside, even if only a little bit, and they had invited us in!  So we went.

Well, we did get the job, and we didn’t, as you know, go out and get another car.  We consciously even didn’t get the dent fixed.  Part of that is that we got to know you all, and knew the kind of car we drove didn’t actually matter.  The other part though, is that we realized other folks coming to visit the church after us, might have those same fears.  We decided that there might be people who needed to see an old, dented car out in the parking lot, in order to feel welcome.  (And the car runs great, anyway, which is what really matters).

We have a lovely new building at the north end of Bergamont Boulevard.  And that is truly a gift, a wonderful tool for ministry.  Let’s talk though about that grand building at the other end of Bergamont Boulevard.  The Clubhouse is beautiful, and I know down the hill there’s some really beautiful, expensive homes as well, but those are private homes, and the Clubhouse is semi-public, so let’s talk about that one.  Even though it has this big sign on the highway advertising the fish fry and that it’s open to the public, I have to be honest, as a young parent from a working class background, I might feel pretty uncomfortable in there.  I would probably not ever have worked up the courage to go in there on my own, let alone bring my family. But we have been there, with our nominating committee, who invited us, and being among people that I’d met a few times made it a much more comfortable experience.

Now, this metaphor is going to break down a little because apart from the public aspects, they are, indeed, a members-only private club, and they look like a private club.

I know how many of you in this room are passionate about outreach, and the first rule of outreach in any kind of church is:   Let’s make sure we don’t ever look like a members-only, private club.

Now let’s talk about Olive Garden.  Their ad campaign says: “When you’re here, you’re family.”

Family--we know this word well here and we do it.  We turn out when folks need it, you all do.  When [our long-time member] Florice passed away and had no family of her own here, and yet her funeral was full, people were gathered and also, may I say, well-fed!  Because our church excels at stuff like this. We could just borrow the ad and say, 'When you're part of this church, you are family!'  When the word gets out that one of us needs help, we turn out--and we should never change that about us.

We gotta be careful about how we use that word ‘family,’ though--let’s just talk about normal families--because normally, families live in private homes.  Especially these days, you don’t go into a private family home unless you know the folks inside already and you have an invitation.

Hold that thought a moment.

Now, have I ever told  you about the daily bike and stroller patrol?  On any day in spring, summer or fall with half-decent weather, we have dozens of folks from the neighborhood enjoying our property.  They are teaching their kids to ride bikes, they’re moms going on walks after picking up the kids from daycare and getting home from work, they’re playing basketball or foursquare, they’re waiting for an AA meeting, they’re visiting a friend who lives behind the church, they’re walking the dog, they’re parked eating lunch, whatever. You know what?  I’m glad they’re here.  I try to be here at least a couple nights a week when they’re here.  

[Our long-term member] Doris keeps asking us to have a block party to welcome the children of the neighborhood.  I know it’s a lot of work, but I also say, let’s take that one step further, maybe three steps further.  How do we say to these folks, hey, we’re so glad you’re here, please keep teaching your kids to ride bike on our driveways, we’re glad we’re a safe place to do that--how do we make these folks’ lives easier?  What else might they need that we can offer in hospitality?

These are the kinds of things that made me think of my recent visit to Hillcrest--which might be a good example of Good Samaritans in this town, you see, because we’re different kinds of Christians, from different backgrounds--and I think they are sometimes viewed with a little suspicion about what they’re doing over there. Again, I wasn’t sure if I was going to feel comfortable there, but their pastors and I have gotten to be friends, and they invited me.   

Good Samaritans practice hospitality--you’ll notice they’ve crossed the road in an extreme way, to be in the high school building, which is not as threatening for a first-time visitor perhaps as a church building might be.  Within that school what Hillcrest excels at is welcome.  Everything is geared to the first-time visitor’s welcome.  Well-trained greeters and ushers get you where you need to go; big signs tell you where to bring the kids and how to find the bathroom.  People see you with kids and help you find a well-staffed nursery immediately.  The worship service itself assumes there are people there who’ve never been there before.  I came away with a deep appreciation for some of the things our neighbors there are doing.  Sure, we’ll still continue to have our theological differences, but we can learn from them, and building a friendship with their church, as well as with all the churches in town, despite our differences, will help to make us all better and more welcoming churches.

It doesn’t have to take a lot of money or effort to be a Good Samaritan.  Sometimes all it takes is the willingness to look a little foolish, get outside ourselves, be the first one to speak up and introduce ourselves.  Sometimes, we all just have to work up the courage and cross to the other side of the road, figuratively or literally.

And as we start down this road, seeking to grow spiritually as well as physically, we are not alone.  Like Paul and the Colossians, may we be filled with the knowledge of God’s will, that we are strengthened for service, patient, able to give joyfully, and above all things, go about this work in love.  For in doing so, we will live.  Thanks be to God!

+++++++++++
Prayers for this week:
+For our mission service trip, departing this week to Kentucky, where they will fix up homes and help in other tasks for our brothers and sisters in need in Appalachia.
+For all places of strife and tension in the world, that leaders may find wisdom to build reconciliation and peace and justice.
+For all people suffering from violence, that they may find healing with their families and communities.
+Healing and comfort for all who are ill or injured; comfort to all who are grieving the loss of loved ones.
+For families, especially visiting relatives and safe travels to be with family members.
+For all who are suffering from disasters and tragedies, particularly the plane crash and train wreck.